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Tuesday, October 21, 2008

First off, I know you guys have asked a lot of questions in your comments and I'll definitely answer them. I'm just not taking the time to go through and answer them while I'm still here because I really don't want to be attached to my computer. I am going to have one looong Sunday Sound Out when I get to them!

We had a lazy morning and slept in a bit, had some pancakes in our room and went for a swim. We hit Epcot around noon. It wasn't crowded at all which was wonderful! It wasn't as hot today either (especially when the sun was behind clouds) which was nice. We went on Spaceship Earth when we first arrived because you can't go to Epcot and not go in the sphere. They've changed that a little bit from the last time I was there (as a kid).

Then we headed over to the world pavilion. We started at Mexico and made our way to every country. They sell these passports there and kids can take them around and get them stamped in each country they visit. I have to admit that the world showcase can be kinda boring for the little kids because there aren't too many rides or exhibits that young kids would find interesting. The passports gave them something to do - look for the "kidcot" station and get a stamp in their book. They also have a little craft that's free and kids can go from country to country and add an item to their craft at each stop.

Joe and I had fun eating our way through the countries. We could easily have spent a small fortune doing this! Especially if we'd gone with our friends Jenny and Chris, who like to eat as much as we do! We had some yummy thing (forgot what it was called) and churros in Mexico, these delicious waffle-like pastries with jam in Norway, eggrolls, potstickers, and veggie stir fry in China, pretzels in Germany, falafel, couscous, and baklava in Morocco, sushi (California rolls because the kids wanted to try it) in Japan, and spanikopita and melamakarona at a Greek stand. There may have been more, but I can't remember. It was all delicious!

We have to get up early tomorrow because we agreed to listen to a 90 minute time share dealy. That knocked several hundred dollars off the price of our room so we decided it was worth it. After that, I think we'll hit Magic Kingdom again for a couple hours. We want to do a couple things we didn't have time for yesterday and the kids want to do a couple favorite rides again. We plan on calling it an early night and coming back to our room for spaghetti.

Oh, for those of you who were wondering if we have to get 2 rooms - we got a 2 bedroom villa off Disney property. It has a full kitchen and a washer and dryer in the room. Even when I factored in the cost of a rental car, parking, and gas, it was cheaper than staying on site. Actually, scratch that. I think the cheaper Disney hotels (All Star ones) were about the same, but we'd have to get 2 adjoining rooms and there was no kitchen or laundry.

This way, we went down the street to Publix and bought eggs, bagels, pop, water, juice, milk, bread, peanut butter, cereal, fruit, and snacks. We have breakfast in our room every day and take snacks and water into the parks. Some days, we've stopped for dinner on the way to the hotel at a casual restaurant off site. We've gotten some food at the parks too. It gets expensive dining out all the time and you tend to eat more garbage when you eat out constantly, in my opinion. It's been really nice getting to have some meals in our room.

I suppose, if money were no object (or for smaller families) staying on site would be more convenient. There are definitely advantages to it. But for us, this is working out nicely.

Oh, here's a funny story. Or more like a story that highlights my dorkness. While we were at the pool this morning, I overheard two people talking in a foreign language. I was lying in the sun with my eyes closed so I didn't see them, but I could hear their conversation. I thought to myself, that's an interesting language. It sounds a little familiar, but I can't figure out what language it is. What are they speaking? Then I was able to pick out the words, "flew out of Manchester..." Manchester? That's in England, isn't it? Oh my gosh! They're speaking ENGLISH! I swear I've never heard thicker English accents in my life. I seriously didn't understand more than half the words they spoke. And it was ENGLISH for crying out loud. And it's not like you don't hear that accent around here. There are a lot of English people who vacation here. Their pound goes so far here in America. It works out well for them. Honestly, the only word I recognized was "aye" because they said that a lot. It's amazing that the same language can sound so different!

OK, I've got to get some sleep, but I'll leave you with a couple of the 200 or so pictures I took today. By the time this trip is over, I'm going to be able to make a 4 hour video for the kids to watch again and again.

41 comments:

I am trying my hardest to stifle my laughter because I have that exact same photo of that exact same lizard on that train set from August when we visited the Disney parks. I even told my hubby, "If I crop this just right it will look like Godzilla about to destroy the village."

Thanks for proving I'm not the only one who takes those pictures and likes them!

Oh! A 90 minute, twist your arm, make you feel like a poor fool if you turn them down, time share demonstration. The wife and I got a discount on a helicopter ride, and a boom box out of attending two of those. The ride made the wife sick, and the boom box quickly broke. I trust your reward will prove much better.

So funny that you went to the Norway-part of Disney! :D The waffel-like thingies are called "vafler" in Norwegian, and are traditionally eaten with jam (syltetøy) and sourcream (rømme) - but also nice with cheese (my favorite). :)

My BF and I went to DisneyLand Resort Paris this summer, and had a blast. Especially in the line for the Toy Story-ride (there we were, two 27 yo's and a gigantic line filled with 2 to 5 yo's). I think I have to return when I can share the experience with someone a little younger (and not just my equally weird and childish BF). :)

Hey Dawn,If they said "aye", they probably spoke scottish (an the closest airport to scotland connecting to the US is in Manchester). Although the Manchester accent is indeed very strong, try understanding a scotsman. :-D I spent a year in Aberdeen and: You get used to it. If they say "aye" and "bonny" a lot and make those "ch"-noises which sound German, check for kilts. ;-)Enjoy your trip,Anna

Thanks so much for sharing your vacation with all of us!! I love the photos as I am trying very hard to get my 3 kids (16,18,20) to go to Disney next year. Your photos will make me push them harder to go there! We have a Disney timeshare and have had it since 1995. Absolutely LOVE it! We can go whenever we choose and for as long or short a visit as our points will hold out.

Oh Dawn! Looks like you and your sweet family are having a wonderful time.Just a lil note about the 90 min.time share thingy...WARNING..they will keep you there FOREVER while they play "good cop, bad cop" pressuring you into buying into that time share. "No thank you" apparently means keep badgering us for over 3 hrs. ugh , btw they encourage you to SURE! bring the kiddos! that way after 3hrs, one will have fallen asleep on your lap (legs go numb,drool soaked arm...)while the other complains"I'm HUNGRY". Oh wait, you have six...God bless you and good luck..waiting eagerly to hear the details of your time share experience...

If you heard the people saying "aye" a lot, then they were probably speaking with a Scottish accent. Being Scottish this is our way of saying "yes", and yes this accent would be very hard to understand as we Scots have our own brogue (or Scots language).Kathleen (formerly of Scotland now living in Bermuda)

Did you find the secret VIP restaurant? "Around the right side of The Living Seas, past the Coral Reef restaurant, there is a door marked only by the United Technologies Corporation logo. Press the buzzer by the door, display your pass and you will be allowed access to the VIP lounge"

Dawn, I think Disney should pay you for advertising your wonderful pictures and stories. You make it look so inviting and all of your readers (all 3 trillion of them) are probably pricing out trips to Disney right now. Especially if they've never been there. Quite the marketing stategy for Disney...so make sure you contact them and ask when you can expect to get your check. Have fun on the rest of your vacation and I will continue to be jealous!

My husband hails from Manchester and, while he has lost much of the edge of his accent, I find it sometimes near impossible to understand his relatives. They have just learned to talk r-e-a-l-l-y slowly for the American and our kids.

Thank you for sharing your vacation with us. I feel like I'm there but without the stress and feeling like I need to take out a second mortgage to pay for it all! I hope you were strong when the (usually sleazy) time share saleperson tried to get you to sign on the dotted line. They can be so agressive.

Not understanding the people from England is so funny. My husband is from Liverpool, and for the first few years of our marriage he would talk to my family on the phone and when I got on they would ask what he said because they couldn't understand him! If we get in an argument I just tell him I can't understand him and to speak English. My dad even had a button made for him that read "I don't speak English" because he was so difficult to understand. Thankfully after 7 years here we can understand him a bit easier, but when his family calls, I am lost!

We stayed in Kissimmee for two weeks. We only have two kids and it was still much, much cheaper to stay off site. We too had a condo with a kitchen and w/d. We went to Publix :-) and stocked up on breakfast goodies.

If the English people were saying Aye a lot then they were probably northerners - quite possibly Scottish - who have very broad accents and can be very difficult to understand. My father-in-law is scottish and I cant understand a bloody word he says!!!!

Histerical! I hope yall are having a great time at Disney. We usually go a few times a year and you're right, it is VERY expensive! The smiles and laughs are worth it though! If you get a chance, eat at Le Cellier (Canada at Epcot). It's our favorite restaurant there!

hi, glad you are having a great time, it brings back memories of our trip. However just wanted to say the English you heard was probably west coast Scottish accent, the aye gives it away, you see its worth making a 5hr drive from glasgow to Manchester as with a family you can save 2 to 3 hundred pounds on flights. hope the rest of the holiday goes well

About the English accents-I had a few similar experiences when I visited a friend in England several years ago. I took a train ride to London, and a man sitting next to me asked me a question (in English!). Well, after three times of saying "Pardon me?", I decided to just hope that it was a yes/no question and took my chances with a yes nod. Our conversation didn't go much further, so I figure my guess was wrong and he thought I was a complete idiot!

Hmm ok now I'm getting more freaked out. We had spaghetti when we got home from the Magic Kingdom today. And we're shopping at that Publixx, too ;) I can't decide if I'm inadvertantly stalking you or if we're just similar enough that we're doing such similar things.

FYI, we didn't get back until after 7!!! Oops. Oh, and where's the restaurant you've eaten at? The only one we found was Ponderosa, which my mom vetoed.

hey just to let ya know, I went to disney world about a year ago, and I thought I might tell you about my fave rides. 1. splash mountain! located in magic kingdom.

2.rockin roller coaster!!! located in mgm studios.

3.soaring.I think its in epcot, all the kids will like this;its not boring

4.mission to mars!!!!!!!!!! this one rocks! since you rode everest do the higher more extreme one, its not the kind of ride that makes you sick anyway,the levels are only for people with neck and back problems anyway.

5.hmm, well, I cant think of one I know you have not done!(because of twitter and blog updates,I know most of them! Man you twitter alot!:-D)

Haha, I love it that you couldn't understand the Manchester accent. How awesome is that? =) I remember when I first came to America I was watching a programme on the TV where they were interviewing a chap from Manchester...and they were using SUBTITLES! =D I thought that was so funny.

And to end, I'd just like to say, "Pu' wood in'th'ole! Wur tha born in't barn?"